How will you respond to the plea?

You can change the life of your refugee brothers and sisters

How will you respond to the plea?

You can change the life of your refugee brothers and sisters

What is happening?

We are in a time period where warring countries are not uncommon. Many people are living in poverty and are terrified to leave their homes. Their only hope is to emigrate to Europe or North America. Terrorist groups like Isis and and wars going on in their home country are keeping them from leaving.

Where are they coming from?

Syria

Afghanistan

Iraq

Sudan

South Sudan

Central African Republic

DRC

Eritrea

Somalia

Myanmar

What countries are accepting the refugees?

Turkey (1.9 million)

Lebanon (1.1 million)

Jordan (629,00)

Iraq (249,000)

Egypt (132,000)

Germany (98,700)

Sweden (64,700)

Hungary (18,800)

Denmark (11,300)

United Kingdom (7,000)

France (6,700)

United States (1,500 resettlements)

Canada (10,000 resettlements)

Australia (12,000 resettlements)

United Arab Emirates (250,000)

Brazil

National flag of Germany

National flag of France

National flag of Hungary

National flag of Germany

National flag of France

National flag of Hungary

Who accepts the refugees

National flag of Turkey

National flag of Lebanon

Who accepts the refugees

National flag of Turkey

National flag of Lebanon

This is just some of the things that refugees have to go through to be safe and enter the United States

And here is an amazing video by John Green that gives a overview of the refugee crisis, and how Europe, North and South America, and Austrialia react to it

Understanding the Refugee Crisis in Europe, Syria, and around the World

This is the boy referenced by John Green. He was three years old when he died and we did nothing.

One Syrian boy's plea

And this is the 13 year old boy who just wants to live.

How can you help these people?

There are many ways you can help out. By working on either the foot of charity or help through the means of both Justice and Charity. I am here to focus more on the Justice aspect of the situation, and you can too. This can be achieved by writing an email to the president and secretary of state. This can be done through two different ways.

The first way is through an organization called Oxfam America, and the second way is through directly writing to President Obama and Secretary Kerry. (links to all below)

For this link you will have to scroll down and click on "Contact Us Request Form"

What I personally wrote

You don't have to feel pressured to read what I wrote to the president, but if you wish to see what I said and believe you are welcome to read on.

Dear [either President Obama or Secretary Kerry]

I am currently writing to you as a high school student. I live in Atlanta Georgia, and will soon be going into my last year of high school, but I am not here to talk about myself. I am here to talk about the Refugee Crisis. Lately I have been looking into the Syrian Refugee Crisis, and I have found that the people in these countries are being mistreated. I know that this is a known fact and that I am stating the obvious. What I truly want to talk to you about is what we can do as a nation to help these people.

Fighting will not help the situation, these people already live in violent countries. What I propose is that we help them in other ways. A few weeks ago my mom and I went on a habitat for humanity build. I helped the homeowner build a home for herself and her family. While I was there I learned a bit about the Habitat for Humanity program. I was told that the people who receive the home help the next generation of people in the program. So for about a year or two after their house was completed the habitat homeowner will help in the organization with teaching others and building homes. I swear this little story has a point, and the point is that I think we need to apply the Habitat for Humanity's ideas to the Refugee Crisis. I believe there should be a government program funded by the donations of the American people. These donations should then go to helping get these people out of their warring country. Once we bring them to America, or wherever else we bring them, they will be entered in a program which will help help them become integrated into society. We can help them build a home, we can teach them about our economy and English, and we can give them the medical attention they need. After they go through the program they, in turn, can help their brothers and sisters back in their homeland. They can help build and teach those who were in the same position as them. We can make strong bonds between the refugees and us and we can help a wide range of people.

I just read a story of a family in Syria who had a little son by the name of Mohammad. The family was awaiting resettlement from the American embassy. But because we waited too long the son, Mohammad who had a heart problem, died. This program can help people in situations like this. We can save so many people if we just open our doors to them. This program doesn't have to just stay in America either. We can team up with other countries and build even better bonds with European countries. Maybe one day we will be able to fix this problem for good. Right now we can only send support and try to stay as peaceful as possible in these warring countries.

Please consider this proposition.

Sincerely,

Marina Massaroni

There are so many ways you can get involved

Whether it is through Oxfam or directly emailing one of our leaders there is so much we can do. We, as US citizens, do not live in a constant fear for our lives, and I believe that because we have this luxury, we need to help the others that don't. Whether you decide to walk on the foot of charity or justice, this is not an issue we can turn our backs to any longer.